NEC VL AY 
OSS 


BN 
GAEAI NA, iLL. 


Dicks MENT Dey 


CS ae 


UBILEE. [SSUE 7 & 
THE 


? 


nis! : ) - Q Ez 


Qn 


RAPPIST UFE 


at the 


pode ABBEY 
of the New World 


Abbey SA Ed 


SOT RTS SEAN er 


Univ.oOf Jil, Library 


1a? 


Return this book on or before the 
Latest Date stamped below. 


University of Illinois Library .- 


. 


| aS 
or 


mee aes an 
eo oe $a EEE 
S31 AY » 8 
FF he Se a 34 


L161—H41 


INTERIOR OF THE ABBATIAL CHURCH 
Taken from the Lay Brothers’ Choir. 


can oye wine eon MEROre ne Rea i cee ay I4A2G, 


GUIDESTOsPOSEULRAN Ls 


FOR THE 


Abbey of Our Lady of 


Gethsemani 


(KENTUCKY) 
R. NEWCOMB 
G05 Nevada St. 
URBANA, ILL. 
OF THE 


Order of Reformed Cistercians 


commonly called ‘‘Trappists”’ 


Imprimatur 
Cum permissu Reverendissimi D. Ioannis-Baptistae Ollitraut 


de Keryvallan, Abbatis Generalis Ordinis 
Cisterciensium Reformatorum. 


+ Fr.Edmundus M. Obrecht, O. C. R., 
Abbas B. M. de Gethsemani, 
die 10a Februarii, 1924. 


NIHIL OBSTAT 
+ Ioannes A. Floersh, D. D., 


Episcopus Coadiutor Ludovicopolitanensis, 
Die 74 Martii, 1924. 


COPYRIGHT 1924 BY THE ABBEY 
OF GETHSEMANI, INC. 


Foreword to the Second Edition. 


The first edition of the following pages having been exhausted, 
it has become necessary to print this second edition, which we offer to 
our prospective postulants in a particular manner, but also to our friends 
and all those who are interested in our manner of life. At the same time 
we wish to extend our sincere thanks for the kindly reception given to 
the first edition. 

In substance there has been no change; some enlargements indeed 
have been incorporated into this issue, especially as regards our Lay- 
Brothers, but otherwise these are almost exclusively in the nature of fuller 
details and more explanations, in order to better attain the end we had in 
view, namely: to give a general idea of our Order; the object for which 
we live, and the manner of life with us. To this also we have added an 
appendix concerning the Nuns of our. Order, for. although we deeply 
regret that these have not yet been introduced into the United States, 
yet the inquiries we have received regarding them show that many take 
a great deal of interest in that branch of our Order, an interest which they 
well merit by their fervor and exemplary observance of our Rules. 

The felicitous occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of the Foundation 
of our Community here, which is commemorated this year, and recalling 
to mind the fact that this is the Proto-Abbey in America, that is to say, 
the first Monastery in the New World to receive from the Center of 
Christendom the privilege of having a Mitred Abbot at its head, give 
us ample. grounds to renew our grateful acknowledgements for so many 
blessings received from God, and we pray that, with His favor, the fervor 
and prosperity of the community will increase with the lengthening years. 

Feast of our Father, St. Robert, 
April Twenty-ninth, 1924. 


” 


ee 


= 


An hile 


Lae 
. 


Ss 
eee 


tee 


i e 


x af 


e 


To the Reader 


N PREPARING the few fol- 
lowing pages we have made 
no pretense to write the 
5 @ || history of our Order (The 
Reformed Cistercians, or 
cz Trappists) nor to give a full 
description of its observances or mode of 
living. Our object is merely to state some 
points under each of these heads, and 
to give an answer to the questions so 
often asked of us by souls seeking to find 
their vocation, or by their spiritual 
directors; hence they may be entitled a 
‘Guide to Postulants”’ for our Order. 
The need for such a guide is especially 
shown from the erroneous ideas frequently 
current, by the influence of which numbers 
are deterred from following the call of 
their conscience. One of the common _ 
forms of error thus suggested is that the 
Monastic Orders, and ours in particular, 
were good enough for the Middle Ages, 
but are unsuited to our modern times, 
and particularly so in America. But 
what is there in our rules that is not 
compatible with the life of today? 
Is it the life of prayer and contempla- 
ONE OF THE CHUROH tion—a life of penance and mortifica- 
WINDOWS 
tion, with the consequent union with 
God? But this is precisely the most needed remedy for the ills of our 
strenuous modern life, where the heart of the majority is concerned with 
nothing but the business and pleasures of the present life; amounting to 
nothing less than practical materialism. This materialistic spirit is 
growing over the entire world, but nowhere is it more dominant than at 
our home in America. We too easily forget the deep lessons taught us 
by Holy Scripture: Whilst Moses was on the top of the hill (Deut. chap. 
17, verse 11) he seemed to be profitless to Josue, who was fighting Amalec 
in the valley below, yet so long as he kept his arms extended the Israelites 


8 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


were victorious, but so soon as he discontinued his prayer his people were 
overcome. This example expresses the principal object of our Order; vica- 
rious penance and prayer. 

Neither is it true that this spirit cannot be adapted to the American 
character, for more than half of the members of the Abbey of Gethsemani 
are native Americans, with this proportion constantly increasing; they 
show themselves happy in their vocation, as well as good and fervent 
religious. 

A second misunderstanding is a popular belief that in order to be 
eligible for La Trappe one is presumed to be guilty of all the crimes possi- 
ble, and has to retire to a monastery to expiate them. Weadmit willingly 
that all of us have not preserved the white robe of innocence; but alas! 
how many, even among the saints, particularly in our modern times, 
have not sinned? We must, therefore, embrace a life of penance, as there 
is no other way left for those who, after having offended God, wish to 
return to Him. In this sense we accept those guilty of sins, and some- 
times of very grievous sins, but only in case there has been no notoriety or 
public scandal. We cannot admit criminals, as the rules of our Order 
and the laws of the Holy See are most stringent on this point. Even if 
we were free in this matter we should not do so, both on account of the 
name such subjects would bring on the monastery, and also because of 
the danger of scandalizing so many innocent souls faithfully serving God 
in their chosen vocation. 

Our little work shall contain: first, a brief historical sketch of the 
Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, drawing the materials for it from 
documents we have here. Secondly, some ideas of religious life in general, 
and in particular of the great Order founded by St. Benedict, who is so 
justly termed the Father of the Monks of the West. Then of the Cis- 
tercian Order, the greatest branch of the Benedictines, and of which 
the Reformed Cistercians (Trappists) are the direct descendants. Finally, 
to close with a short description of our manner of life, reproducing for this 
purpose much of the matter contained in a booklet published a few years 
ago by one of our Monasteries in France, and approved by our General 
Chapter. 


E. M. OBRECH T4Abbor, 


From the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, 
On the Feast of Blessed Humbeline, 
February the Twelfth, 1916. 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 9 


The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. 


Nestling among the knobs of Nelson County, surrounded by the 
very earliest landmarks of Catholicity in Kentucky, is to be found the 
home of the Trappists (as the Order of Reformed Cistercians is commonly 
called), the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. 

Its geographical situation is forty-nine miles south of Louisville, 
on the Knoxville branch of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, about 


GENERAL VIEW OF THE ABBEY (East Side) 


one and one-half miles north of the station known, after the Monastery, 
as Gethsemane. The location is ideal for the purpose intended, being 
remote from the noise and distractions of modern life, yet sufficiently 
near for all necessary intercourse with the outside world. The setting 
provided by nature could hardly be exceeded in attractiveness, without 
bordering on the sublime. The picturesque hills and valleys provide a 
pleasing variety, and when these are fresh with the mantling verdure of 
Spring and Summer, or gorgeous with the parti-colored splendors of the 
early Fall, they form a picture that raises the soul almost instinctively 
to the thoughts of our Heavenly home, making even the most severe 
penance seem but a light price to pay for what we hope will be ours in the 
future. 


/ 


| 


10 GUIDE TO-POSTULANTS 

The plainness of construction, combined with stately size, gives a 
befitting air of gravity to the monastic buildings; all tending to eliminate 
from the mind the desire for vain show, ostentation and _ useless or- 
namentation, which would be so out of harmony with the spirit of severe 
simplicity so much loved by the early Cistercians. Yet there is not 
wanting in them a certain beauty, the charm of which grows by study 
and a better understanding of them, and, as it were, an imbibing of the 
lessons they are there to teach. 

In the year 1848, the Monastery of Melleray, in France, was in 
the face of a grave crisis. In numbers it was great; indeed it could scarcely 
contain those whom it called its children. This crowded condition made 
it imperative to found a new monastery for them, and the fear as to the 
outcome of the Revolution of that year, caused them to consider the 
advisability of seeking a home in some foreign land.- Hence, at the earnest 
solicitation of Msgr. Flaget, the saintly Bishop of Louisville, it was decided 
to send a colony to his Diocese 1n the New World. 

For this purpose Dom Maxime, then Abbot of Melleray, placed 
the Reverend Father Eutropius Proust at the head of a band of forty 
religious, (supplemented a few years later by another company of four- 
teen) whom he was to lead, after many vicissitudes, to a farm that had been 
purchased for them from the Sisters of Loretto, at the place above de- 
scribed. 

On October 26, 1848, the new community left their beloved Melleray 
for their future home in the United States. The trials of the little com- 
pany from the Abbey to Havre, their port of embarkation, were many, 
as the means of travel in those days were primitive, according to our 
manner of judging things. Finally, however, all were on board ship- 
and the ocean voyage began on November 2. After a passage that was 
then considered rapid, they reached New Orleans December 6, deploring 
the loss of one of their number at sea, he having fallen a victim to disease. 
The last part of the journey was made by steamboat, up the Mississippi 
and Ohio rivers, to Louisville, and by wagons from that city, by way of 
Bardstown, to Gethsemani, where they arrived, footsore and weary, 
on December 20, 1848, and made their official, though humble, beginning 
of the community in America. 

The first years of the new establishment were painful to the extreme, 
for the virgin forest, and almost barren land, had to be worked into a 
condition fit for cultivation by men wholly unacquainted with the pe- 
culiar needs of a strange country and unfamiliar climate. 

However, such progress was made that the new foundation was soon 
assured of its future, and, the requisite formalities having been complied 


U, OF ILL. LIB. ee dae 
| GUIDE TO POSTULANTS art TT 40 “fh, 
é 

with, it was canonically erected into an Abbey by His Holiness, Pope 
Pius IX., the date of the Rescript being July 21, 1850, making this the 
Proto-Abbey in any part of the New World. Dom Eutropius Proust, 
as soon as proper arrangements could be made, was elected its Abbot and, 
as soon as the election had received proper confirmation, was Solemnly 
Blessed, October 26, 1851, by his Lordship, the Right Reverend Martin 
John Spalding, then Bishop of Louisville who thus had the distinction of 
being the first person to have imparted to him the Abbatial Benediction 

in the Western Hemisphere. 
After having been thus recognized and encouraged, the new com- 
munity set to work at the construction of adequate buildings, to replace 


GENERAL VIEW OF THE ABBEY (West Side) 


the old log structures that were rapidly falling into decay. This proved 
to be an almost superhuman undertaking, as the immense quantity of 
bricks needed were all to be made on the place, and the timber had to be 
cut and hewn from the forest, whilst the resources with which to meet these 
expenses were slender indeed. To the natural difficulties were added 
still greater ones arising from the Civil War, which broke out whilst they 
were in the midst of their work. Still, with the help Providence sent 
them, they were able to complete everything, and on November 15, 1866, 


the Most Reverend J. B. Purcell, D. D., Archbishop of Cincinnati, con- 
secrated the church and dedicated the monastery to the service of God. 


12 7 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


The Most Reverend Martin J. Spalding, D. D., Archbishop of Baltimore, 
the firm friend of the Trappists, preached an eloquent sérmon on the 
occasion, after having made the long trip expressly for this purpose. 
The Right Rev. P. J. Lavielle, Bishop of Louisville, with the Right Rev. 
J. Timmon, Bishop of Buffalo, and the Right Rev. Bruno Fitzpatrick, 
Abbot of Mt. Melleray in Ireland, consecrated the various side altars. 
Besides these there were many distinguished members of both the 
secular and regular clergy present, as well as a large concourse of the 
laity. 

The difficulties attending the original foundation having been 
recounted, there remains but little of interest to the general reader to be 
noted by the historian. 

Certainly Gethsemani had its days of brighter joy, interspersed 
with those of more somber sadness, but in all could be recognized the 
fatherly hand of God, purifying, directing or encouraging the work which 
had no other end than Himself. However, the life was found hard and so 
contrary to the spirit of those early days that very few postulants per- 
severed; and even among the number of original colonists the ravages of 
death were felt; whilst others, discouraged by the excessive difficulties in a 
totally new and strange land, abandoned the life, so that the community 
became numerically greatly reduced. But as the spirit of Catholicity 
spread in the country, and also because of certain mitigations introduced 
by authority of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII, the number began to augu- 
ment; so that, at present, there are between eighty and ninety in the 
community. 

To Dom Eutropius, the first Abbot, succeeded Dom Benedict 
Berger, who, from the date of his election, 1859, administered the affairs 
of the Monastery for nearly thirty years, upholding in the community 
zeal for religious observances and the spirit of prayer and penance, the 
two main supports of the Order. Broken at length by age and infirmities 
he resigned his pastoral charge on September 2, 1889, and peacefully 
slept in the Lord on August 13th of the following year. 

The third Abbot of the house, Dom Edward Chaix-Bourbon, was 
elected May 9, 1890. To him were not granted the years of his venerable 
predecessor, still his personal holiness of life became an inspiration to 
good for all who were privileged to come in contact with him. Never of 
robust health, his strength gave way completely under the weight of cares 
and anxieties that accumulated from many sources. He spent a few 
years in France, in order to recuperate, but, not succeeding, he resigned in 
1898, and was replaced by the writer of these lines, who was first appointed 
Superior and later elected Abbot, receiving the Abbatial Benediction in 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS | 13 


the Abbey Church, from the Right Reverend W. G. McCloskey, D. D., 
then Bishop of Louisville, on October 28, 1898. 

During these years it has been the present incumbent’s humble 
purpose to consolidate and bring to an ever increasing perfection the good 
work begun by predecessors so worthy, fully realizing that though man may 
plant and water, yet to God alone is. due the increase. 

It may not be amiss to add a few words concerning the school 
formerly attached to the Monastery. 

This school was begun in 1851 as a day school for the poor children 
of the neighborhood, who were then wholly without the means of acquiring 


ABBEY GATE AND ENTRANCE 


even the rudiments of a Christian education. Later on, at the request of 
many amongst its benefactors and patrons, it was made a boarding in- 
stitution, and still later a College, with power from the State to confer 
the usual academic degrees. But these conditions were always objected 
to by the Superiors of the Order, and they only tolerated what seemed to 
be a necessary evil, as it is entirely against the spirit of the Order to con- 
duct such institutions. 

Some of our monasteries, it is true, still have schools connected 
with them, but they always prove more or less of a detriment to many 


14 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


of the community observances, and are only permitted where local needs 
really demand them. .This need has long since been remedied, so far as 
Gethsemani is concerned, by the establishment of a sufficient number of 
both day and boarding schools in the vicinity; so that when, in 1912, the 
college and school buildings were entirely destroyed by fire, it was decid- 
ed that they be not reconstructed. 

Since its establishment Gethsemani, like all monasteries of the 
Order, has always been pleased to receive members of both clergy and 
laity for a few days of spiritual rest and recollection. Later on there was 
also opened a department for the reception of clergymen who, at the di- 
rection of their Ordinaries, were to make retreats of greater or lesser 
duration as a disciplinary measure. This latter institution, though 
serving a useful purpose, prevented the inauguration of regular public 
retreats, for both clergymen and laymen, so much desired. Hence, in 
1921, the reception of permanent boarders was definitely discontinued, 
and the guest department opened to regular public, as well as private, 
TetreaEs. 

The Knights of Columbus, so generous and zealous in every good 
work, were the first to take advantage of the opportunity thus offered. 
Their ‘“‘Week-End Retreats’’ being the earliest important movement in 
this line, there being a series of these inaugurated in July, 1921, under the 
auspices of the Louisville Council. The three ‘“Week-Ends”’ of that year 
were attended by over one hundred retreatants, composed of Knights and 
other laymen, even a few non-Catholics followed faithfully all the exercises. 
These. were so satisfactory the first year that, in 1922, there were four 
retreats, attended by greater numbers, and it was decided to make them 
a permanent institution. As the good that has been accomplished 
becomes better known, other societies are considering plans for the same 
work amongst their members; and last, but not least, several among the 
secular clergy have made overtures with a view of making their own 
regular retreats within the walls of the monastic enclosure. 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 15 


Origin of the Monastic Orders—Especially 
of the Benedictines. 


THE MON KS—Otur Blessed Saviqur, who came down from Heaven 
to show us the way of salvation by His words and example, has deigned 
to open for us two ways to reach eternal life. The one within the reach 
of all, which consists in the observance of the precepts, and which must 
necessarily be followed by everyone who wishes to avoid hell and gain 


SHRINE IN THE FRONT GARDEN 


Heaven; “If thou wilt enter into life,’ says Jesus Christ, ‘keep the com- 
mandments’”’. (St. Matt. XIX, 17) The other, more perfect and there- 
fore more meritorious, adds to the precepts the practice of the Evan- 
gelical Counsels, which contain the essence of the three vows of poverty, 
chastity and obedience, which are the bases of the religious life. The 
Fathers, the Doctors and the Councils have peremptorily affirmed that the 
religious state has been instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, and is there- 
fore of divine origin. 

They base their affirmation on the words of Our Lord to the young 
man in the Gospel: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thouhast.... 


R, NE EWCO} JB 
605 Nevada St. 


URBAP NA, FH: {. 


16 GUIDE TO: POSTULANTS 


and come follow me.’ (St. Matt: XIX, 21); and on His answer to St. 
Peter: ‘‘And everyone that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or 
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name’s sake, shall 
receive an hundred-fold, and shall possess life everlasting.” (St. 
Matt. XTX 29.). 

The end for which the religious state was instituted is most exalted, 
and the means for attaining this end are most effective. The end is to 
love and serve God in a perfect manner, and to sing His praises without 
intermission. The means are the religious vows. The life is an imitation 
of the occupation of the Blessed in Heaven. Like these the religious, in 
so far as their present imperfect condition permits, are wholly and con- 
tinually intent on serving God and proclaiming His praises in hymns 
and canticles. St. Lawrence Justinian. says: “Here on. earth, in our 
present pilgrimage, we find nothing that gives a truer representation of 
our heavenly home than the religious life of a community which has 
dedicated itself to the service of God.” St. Jerome says, ““That Christ 
and the Apostles were the first Religious.’’ St. John Chrysostom makes 
the same remark. St. Thomas assures us that the Apostles bound them- 
selves by vow to the practice of the Evangelical Counsels, on the day they 
gave up everything to follow their Divine Master. 

But it was especially when the persecutions against Christians 
ceased that great numbers of both men and women began to people the 
most frightful solitudes to secure for themselves, by slow martyrdom, 
_the eternal crown which the persecutors of the Church failed to give them 
by the shedding of their blood for Christ’s sake. Among these angels 
of the solitudes some lived absolutely isolated and alone, and bore the 
name of ‘“‘Anchorets’’; St. Paul, the Hermit, was the first. Others came 
together to live in a community, under the guidance of a superior, and 
according to the constitution of a rule; these were called ‘‘Cenobites’’. 
They recognize St. Anthony as the promulgator of their form of life. The 
number of these gradually increased, and was very considerable ere the 
end of the third century, but in the fourth it became immense, so that the 
deserts presented the appearance of cities inhabited by an assemblage of 
holy solitaries. The whole life of these predestined souls may be summed 
up in these few words: prayer, meditation, watching, fasting, labor, 
silence and retirement the most complete. 

From the East they extended themselves to the West, spreading 
over the different parts of Europe. Through the efforts of St. Athanasius, 
Patriarch of Alexandria, who visited Rome in 340, several monasteries 
were founded in that city and other places in Italy. In Gaul, St. Martin 
founded a monastery near Poitiers in 362. Whilst Archbishop of Tours, 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 17 


in 375, he founded the monastery of Marmoutier, and when he died, 397, 
two thousand monks from his and neighboring monasteries, followed his 
venerated remains to the tomb. 

About the end of the fifth century the simple splendors of the 
monastic discipline began to be tarnished; the natural inclination of the 
human mind to the fleeting pleasures of the world, persecutions of various 
kinds, and the many disasters occasioned by the incursions of the Huns and 
Vandals—all these causes, together with many others, weakened the 


SANCTUARY OF THE ABBATIAL CHURCH 


monastic discipline and introduced, little by little, relaxation in the ceno- 
bitical form of life. It was in the midst of these circumstances that God, 
in His mercy, raised up St. Benedict, who may justly be called the light of 
the desert, the Apostle of Monte Cassino, the restorer of monastic 
discipline in the West; just as St. Anthony had been the Father of it in 
the East. 

ST. BENEDICT—The great legislator for the monks of the West 
was St. Benedict. Born of noble parentage in the year 480, his family 


18 GUIDE. TO POSTULANTS 


took up residence in Rome while the child was of tender age, in order that 
he might have the advantage of good education. There he made solid 
progress in piety and learning, but the more he advanced in the way of 
God, the more he became disgusted with the world and its dangers. 

Monasticism was not new at this time, indeed it was in full bloom 
in the East; nor was it unknown in the West. Such a life had, for the 
generous child, a deep attraction; so at the age of about fourteen years, 
he retired to a grotto, called Subiaco, in order to live there as a hermit. 
After having spent some years in this abode his place of retreat was dis- 
covered by others, and little by little disciples began to join him, until he 
was obliged to establish twelve small monasteries in the vicinity for their 
accommodation. The trial of persecution, however, was not wanting to 
him, so by the envy of a man of ill-will he was compelled to leave his sol- 
itude and seek an asylum at Monte Cassino (529). There he founded the 
most celebrated of all monasteries; the cradle of the Benedictine Order and 
the head of monasticism in the West. There also he composed that 
admirable book, the ‘‘Holy Rule’’, which was the codified form of his own 
method of government; the wisdom and perfection of which, coupled to 
its wonderful discretion, has been praised by saints of all succeeding ages, 
and which has contributed to the sanctification of multitudes of elect souls. 

St. Benedict not only caused his rule to be observed in all his 
monasteries, he also began its propagation in foreign and distant lands, 
by means of his disciples.. Thus he sent St. Placidus to establish it in. 
Sicily, and, at the solicitation of the Bishop of Mans, he ordered St. Maur 
to proceed to France, so as to make it known in that country also. There 
the first monastery was founded at Granfeuil, (in the Diocese of Angers) 
later on better known as “St. Maur on the Loire’. From this radiating 
point Benedictine monasteries were established in many places in France 
and the neighboring countries, and soon also they absorbed the houses of 
the religious who had preceded them, for this great Rule was destined to 
replace that of almost all others, as well as become the base of the greater 
number of other rules of the religious institutes of the middle ages and 
modern times. | 

- Besides cultivating the lands, the Benedictines also applied them- 

selves to the arts and sciences; although in the earliest days of their ex- 
istence they were particularly engaged in clearing up the forests and wild 
lands, where they had been called to establish their houses. One may well 
say that it was the Benedictines, and those who preceded them, who 
transformed and fertilized the soil of France. 

As the price for their labors, and due also to the generosity of the 
faithful, they became possessed of great estates and vast wealth, and 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 19 


although these were used with unstinted liberality to aid the poor, never- 
theless they proved to be the rock upon which, by gradual degrees, the 
primitive fervor and discipline were wrecked. From religious, more than 
from others, God requires that we should use worldly goods merely in 
passing, and in order to reach those ends which are heavenly and eternal. 

This decadence was also caused by the lack of surveillance and con- 
trol; each Benedictine monastery being entirely autonomous. There were 
efforts, generous and glorious, to stem this devastating torrent, such as the 


GENERAL VIEW OF THE NAVE 
Taken from the Sanctuary. 


reform of St. Benedict of Aniane (750-821). Sovereign Pontiffs, Kings, 
Princes, Councils and even Abbots tried many times to oppose the ruin, 
and to work for the restoration of discipline, but the results were of rela- 
tively short duration. When the reform of Cluny was inaugurated (910) 
the practice of the Rule was far from its primitive purity, and it was ex- 
ceedingly difficult to restore it completely, although this was, doubtless, 
the most successful of all attempts up to that time. Certainly the most 


20 GUIDE. TO POSTULANTS 


known and honored Benedictine monasteries of the eleventh Century 
were Cluny and St. Denis; these names, as well as their illustrious work and 
example, are so well known in history that no one is ignorant of them. 

However, when we speak of relaxation in the observance of the Rule, 
it must not be understood that grave disorders are referred to, neither of 
the abandonment of the regular life. That which we speak of was a too 
easy interpretation of the Rule; certain observances that were evidently 
opposed to the spirit of our holy Legislator; the introduction of new cus- 
toms and a more comfortable manner of living, which contrasted strangely 
with the simple poverty of monastic life. Nevertheless religious virtue 
still shone brilliantly in many monasteries, and if the life had become 
softened it was still worthy of esteem and honor. 


History of Citeaux—Its Foundation—Growth— 
Decline—Reform. 


CITEAUX—From these virtues, fruits of fidelity to the existing 
observances, sprang desires for a still more perfect return to the original 
Rule, for even Cluny had not persevered in its mitigated Reform. With 
this end in view a Benedictine Abbot, by the name of Robert, of the Re- 
formed Observance of Cluny, founded the monastery of Molesme (1075) 
in the diocese of Langres, in order that the holy Rule might be there prac- 
tised to the letter. But Molesme, say the chronicles, in its turn became . 
rich and discipline grew relaxed. Then the holy and zealous reformer, 
St. Robert, associated with himself twenty of the more fervent religious, 
and went to the diocese of Chalon-sur-Saone (1098), where, with the 
authorization of Hugh, Archbishop of Lyons and Legate of the Holy See, 
he founded an establishment which he called the ‘““New Monastery’’. 
There he was finally enabled to put into practise his pious aspirations for 
the perfect observance of the Holy Rule. This was the origin of Citeaux, 
as the ‘‘New Monastery” was henceforth called. But in accomplishing 
this work Robert of Molesme doubtless never suspected that he had laid 
the foundations of a new Order, which was to give great glory to God and 
be a powerful support of and honor to Holy Church. Both he, and his 
two immediate successors in the government of Citeaux, Alberic and 
Stephen, are canonized Saints. Under the second abbot, St. Alberic, 
(died in 1109), the religious of Citeaux took the white habit, as they now 
wear it. St. Benedict indeed considered the color and quality of clothing 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


GROUP OF CHOIR RELIGIOUS 
March, 1924. 


al 


22 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


as a matter of little importance, since he says in his Rule: (Chap. 55) 
‘“‘Let not the monks complain as to the color or texture of their clothing.” 
So both white and black are equally regular. 

Fearing lest his monastery should be troubled in the observance of 
his reform or even of its existence, St. Alberic asked of Pope Paschal IT, 
that he might be pleased to take it under the protection of the Holy See 
(1100). It is therefore beyond doubt that the Cistercians were only 
Benedictines ‘‘reformed and transformed’’. 

It was also to St. Alberic that the Order owes the introduction of 
‘‘Lay-Brothers’. These are they who because of a special attraction, or 
out of love for humility or, finally, for want of the required studies, do not 
wish or cannot be admitted to the choir. They wear a brown woolen 
habit, instead of the white of the choir religious, and are more especially 
occupied with those material labors the doing of which would prevent the 
priests from fulfilling their choir duties. 

The lay-brothers are religious in the full sense of the word, although 
not, strictly speaking, monks, and after the necessary novitiate make 
‘simple vows, to be followed later by solemn profession, just the same as 
the choir religious.. They observe the same rules and share fully in all 
the spiritual privileges of those in the choir, except that they will never be 
called to the priesthood. Their time for manual labor is somewhat longer 
than that allotted to the choir members, amounting to about eight hours 
a day, but leaving sufficient occasion for prayer and spiritual reading. 
The divine office for them consists of certain prayers, easily remembered, 
as prescribed by our Ritual and Constitutions, and which they recite 
together at the various hours during the day when the canonical office is 
chanted in church. They are a source of edification to all, many dis- 
tinguishing themselves for their deep piety and solid virtue, and in times 
past a goodly number of them have been honored by the Church as saints 
and blessed. . 

St. Stephen Harding, an Englishman, the third Abbot of Citeaux, 
had the honor of receiving St. Bernard and his companions into the re- 
ligious life, and is, properly speaking, the founder of the Order. He 
established the General Chapters, the annual visitation of every monastery, 
and regulated the relations between the new foundations and the houses 
from which they were formed. It was he who rendered the general gov- 
ernment of the Order more stable by his Charter of Charity, which was 
approved by Pope Calixtus II, in 1119. Many monasteries were founded 
by Citeaux under his administration, the most famous of which was 
Clairvaux, whose first Abbot, St. Bernard (1091-1153) so distinguished 
himself by his virtues, works and doctrine that he was looked upon by 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 23 


many as the founder of that Order of which he was the greatest light. 
The history of those times is full of his apostolic labors through France, 
Italy and Germany for the peace of the Church and the honor of the Pap- 
acy. He is also counted among the Fathers of the Church, because of his 
genius and immortal writings. 

GROWTH—tThe Order of Citeaux increased with great rapidity; 
several Benedictine monasteries adopted its constitutions, and in some 
cases whole Congregations passed under its rule; such as Savigny and 


INTERIOR OF THE CLOISTER (West Side) 


Obazine in 1147, and Dalon in 1162. Ina short time France, Italy, Ger- 
many, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Poland and other countries were 
peopled with Cistercian monasteries. 

Many churches asked and obtained that their chief pastors be 
taken from these monasteries. Several of their members were raised to 
the Cardinalate, and, later on, even Rome chose its Pontiffs from their 
numbers. 

Kings and queens, as well as other high personages, gloried in 
bestowing upon them magnificent foundations, and even there were not 


24 - GUIDE TO®POSTULANTS — 


wanting some amongs¢ them to resign their positions, in order to embrace 
the humble Cistercian life. 

The Orders of Knighthood of the Middle Ages, which were especially 
famous in Spain and Portugal, were affiliated or subject to that of Citeaux; 
St. Bernard himself traced out the rule for the Templars. 

These were the heroic times of the Order. For nearly a century 
the primitive fervor of Citeaux never relaxed. Scrupulous observers of 
the Rule of St. Benedict, the Cistercians prayed, studied and labored. 

The ancient Abbeys of the Order still remaining, as well as the 
ruins of so many others, testify to their taste for a form of architecture 
that was grand, yet severe in style. The lands which they cultivated are 
even now amongst the most fertile in those localities where they established 
themselves. Thus to the Cistercian Order is due the credit for a renewed 
impulse ii: monastic life. 

DECLINE—But unfortunately there came for the Order a period 
of decline. Wealth and immense possessions opened a breach to relax- 
ations; primitive simplicity disappeared. Once entered upon this way, 
the Order was rapidly precipitated from its former high standing. 

Many unfavorable events contributed to this. The war of the 
“Cent Ans” (war of a hundred years) 1834-1459, then the ‘“Commendam’’ 
introduced into the Order about the end of the 15th Century, and finally | 
the religious strifes (1552-1598), successively or simultaneously, had 
caused decadence to set in in France. Nevertheless the Order, although 
fallen from its first fervor, still merited well of holy Church. The 
Sovereign Pontiffs, amongst whom was Innocent VIII (1489) enriched 
it with many. precious and advantageous privileges, both as regards 
spiritual favors and exterior distinctions, 

During these troubles Citeaux, having put aside the Charter of 
Charity of St. Stephen, had been divided into several Congregations. 
Spain, Portugal and Italy separated first, either to preserve a more strict 
observance, or through desire of autonomy and independence; later on 
Germany, following their example, acted similarly. Even in France the 
Order divided into two branches; the Cistercians proper and the Feuillants. 
The latter, reformed by Jean de la Barriere in 1586, spread into Italy and 
followed arule of extreme severity, more strict than the primitive rule of 
Citeaux. There were also other reforms here and there, sometimes of small 
groups of houses, or even single monasteries, but all animated with the one 
object of restoring the original simplicity of the first fathers of the Order, 
but their effects were not general. 

During the seventeenth century the Order of Citeaux, properly 
speaking, was divided in two Congregations, the Common and the Strict 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 25 
Observance. The latter was also called the observance of the Abstainers 
because they strictly abstained from the use of flesh-meat, as prescribed 
by the Rule of St. Benedict. It was begun by Denis Largentier, Abbot 
of Clairvaux, in 1615, and numbered more than fifty monasteries under its 
rule, and was for a long time in a flourishing condition. 

REFORM—tThe Abbey of ha Grande Trappe belonged to the 
Strict Observance. It had formed a; part of the ancient Benedictine 
Congregation of Savigny, dating its foundation from the year 1140. Jean- 
Armand le Bouthillier de Rance (1626-1700) who was first its Com- 
mendatory Abbot, then its Regular Superior, rendered it famous. He 


INTERIOR CLOISTER GARDEN 


made a reform within the reform itself; for the monasteries of the Strict 
Observance, although united, had but little uniformity in their usages and 
regulations. He prepared for his religious very precise regulations which 
interpreted the Rule of St. Benedict, and re-established, as far as possible, 
the primitive Cistercian Constitutions; although, as de Rance himself 
acknowledged, he did not actually impose the full severity of our first 
Fathers, as the circumstances of the times would not permit this. His 


reform, which had penetrated as far as Tuscany in 1700, lasted until the 


French Revolution. On account of its fervor and regularity it was, on 


R. NEWcoNe 
5 

605 Nevada St 

URBANA 14 

é ‘ a t 


26 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


the part of the ‘‘Directoire’’, very near being the object of an exception to 
the general decree of abolition against the religious orders, but finally it 
was forced to succumb. 

God, however, wished to preserve La Trappe as a seed for the future. 
There was amongst its religious a man of valor, energy and courage, Dom 
Augustine de Lestrange. He resolved to save the community by trans- 
ferring it to Switzerland, and for this purpose obtained from the Magis- 
trates of Fribourg the ancient Chartreuse monastery of “‘la Val-Sainte’’, 
and settled there with twenty-four religious who had accompanied him. 
He made very severe regulations; the letter of the Rule of St. Benedict was 
enforced; the hours for meals, the time of work; in one word, all its strict- 
ness was adopted. They even surpassed it in several points in their 
indiscreet fervor. 

Pius VI encouraged the Reform of la Val-Sainte, without, however, 
giving it the authority of a formal approbation. Attempts at foundations 
in Spain, Italy, England and America show the force of expansion of this 
new Congregation. 

Driven from la Val-Sainte by the wars of Napoleon I, Dom Augus- 
tine was obliged to wander with his communities into Austria, Bavaria, 
Poland and even into Russia, leaving, here and there, remnants that later 
became foundations. Thus was established Westmalle in 1794, which 
afterwards became the head of the Congregation in Belgium. 

Obliged to fly once more, he transferred his proscribed communities 
into England and, later (1811) into America, leaving behind him the 
foundations of several monasteries. When peace was restored, he re- 
turned to France and secured the two monasteries of La Trappe and 
Aiguebelle. At the latter he placed the religious of Val-Sainte, himself 
remaining at La Trappe, which thus became the head of the new Congre- 
gation and gave it its definitive name. Elsewhere new monasteries were 
founded: Melleray, Port-du-Salut, Sept-Fons, Mount of Olives etc., 
some following the regulations of de Rance, others, those of Val-Sainte, 
with some slight modifications. 

- The Trappists, as they were now called, multiplied both in and out 
of France. Later, in 1847, they formed three Congregations, namely: 
La Grande Trappe and Sept-Fons in France, with that of Westmalle in 
Belgium. The first kept the ancient Usages of Citeaux; the other two, 
the regulations introduced by the Reform of de Rance; all based on the 
Rule of St. Benedict. However, the differences in the observances among 
the Congregations were more apparent than real. Everyone felt the 
necessity of fusion of the several branches, and all desired it. His Holiness, 
Pope Leo XIII., was most anxious to have this union consummated, 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 27 


hence, on his initiative, a General Chapter of the three Congregations met 
at Rome, October 1, 1892, and after arduous and generous efforts on the 
part of all the union, so long desired, was effected, the Holy Father con- 
firming the decisions arrived at with such admirable concord. After this 
reunion of the several Congregations into one Order had been concluded, 
the General Chapter elected the Most Reverend D. Sebastian Wyart, 
O. C. R., who had been a tireless worker for this much-desired end, as the 
first Abbot-General. After a wise and prudent administration of the 
affairs of the Order of over ten years, he was called to his reward in 1904. 


CORNER OF THE INTERIOR ABBEY GARDEN 


His immediate successor was the Most Reverend D. Augustin 
Marre, O. C. R., Abbot of Igny and Auxiliary-Bishop to the Archbishop 
of Reims. Broken in health by eighteen years of unremitting labor and 
anxiety, especially those accruing during the World-War, this latter re- 
signed his charge in 1922, and in 1923, as a token of the esteem of the Holy 
See for his merits and faithful work, he was promoted to the Archiepis- 
copal See of Mitylene. To him succeeded the Most Reverend D. Jean- 
Baptiste Ollitrault de Keryvallan, O. C. R., who is now administering the 
affairs of the Order in a manner worthy of his illustrious predecessors. 

La Trappe thus became an Order distinct from the Cistercians of 
the Common Observance, and was to retain its own independent General 


28 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


in perpetuity. In 1894 the Constitutions of the new Order were approved 
by the Holy See. Finally, in 1902, an Apostolic Constitution declared the 
Trappists to be the ‘‘True Cistercians’’, having a right to all the privi- 
leges of the ancient Order. The old monastery of Citeaux, having been 
repurchased in 1898, the same Constitution established that henceforth the 
General of the Order, though residing in Rome, would take the title of 
Abbot of Citeaux. The Pope gave the new Order the name of “‘Reformed 
Cistercians, or of the Strict Observance’. The Reformed Cistercians thus 
follow the Rule of St. Benedict, the Charter of Charity and the recent 
Constitutions approved by the Holy See. 


Life of the Reformed Cistercians—Rules and 
Observances as Kept at Gethsemani Abbey. 


The founders of Citeaux left Molesme to follow the Rule of St. 
Benedict more strictly and more perfectly; the Abbe de Rance and Dom 
Augustin de Lestrange inaugurated their reforms for the same end. Heirs 
to their works and glory, it behooves the Reformed Cistercian to be also 
heirs to their fervor and zeal. St. Benedict imposes on his disciples a life 
of seclusion from the world and of union with God by prayer, mortification, 
study, spiritual reading and manual labor; such must be their life. It is 
the contemplative life, admitted by all to be the most perfect. However, 
contemplation in our Order is somewhat allied to action, on account of the 
manual labor, as well as the various trades and occupations exercised in the 
cloister. Still, though this activity does not extend beyond the limits of 
the community, yet it is of very great advantage insofar as it gives a rest 
to the mind, thus affording it the relaxation so often necessary; replacing 
the recreation allowed in other Orders and Institutes. 

PRAY ER—Prayer is an essential and almost continual occupation 
of religious, prescribed by the very nature of their vocation. It gives to 
the soul peace, joy and happiness in elevating it to its Creator and Father; 
hence, a religious must be a man of prayer. Prayer under all its forms 
will be rightly the first and most noble occupation of the Cistercian Monk. 
All his care and attention must be given first to the Divine Office, which 
the Rule of St. Benedict calls the ‘‘Opus Dei”? (Work of God), and which 
is the most excellent of all prayers. To sign psalms, hymns and canticles 
is the office and occupation of the Heavenly Spirits. St. John tells us that 
the Angels surround the throne of God to adore, praise and glorify Him, 


GUIDE TOsPOSTUEANTS 29 


and in this way to manifest to Him their love; hence St. Bonaventure calls 
the sacred psalmody an imitation of the musical harmonies of heaven. 
St. Bernard does not hesitate to assert that the angels take their places in 
the midst of those who sign psalms in choir. The Divine Office is also 
a most devout and touching form of prayer, because the psalms, and very 
frequently only single verses of them, are replete with holy emotions of 
the soul, or most sublime and diversified acts of virtue, corresponding to 
the three stages of the spiritual life, and adapted to almost every possible 
condition and circumstance that we may meet with. The Order of Citeaux 


GROUP OF LAY BROTHERS 
March, 1924. 


has its own Breviary, arranged according to the Rule of St. Benedict, and 
notably different from the Roman. For the Missal, however, since the 
seventeenth century the Roman ‘‘Ordo Missae’’ has been adopted. 

To honor more especially the Mother of God, for whom the Cis- 
tercian Order has always shown a most tender devotion, the ‘‘Little office 
of the Blessed Virgin” is daily recited in choir; so that every canonical 
hour is preceded by the corresponding hour in honor of our Blessed Mother. 

Devotion for the Holy Souls in Purgatory has always been a dis- 
tinguishing characteristic of Citeaux. Besides the Commemoration of 


30 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


All Souls, November 2d, there are four other Solemn Anniversaries during 
the year, on which the office of the Dead, as well as High Mass, is sung. 
The office of the Dead is further receited frequently in choir, about six 
times a month on an average. The Divine Office and High Mass take 
up about six hours of the daily life of the religious. 

READING—After prayer, St. Benedict prescribes what he calls 
spiritual reading, ‘‘Lectio divina.’’ His way of recommending it, and the 
length of time consecrated to this exercise, show what great importance 
the Rule attaches to this monastic duty. Between the various regular 
occupations, there is some free time or interval which the religious devote 
to their private devotions, intercourse with their superiors and to serious 
reading. ; 

Our Order has been reproached with neither loving study nor apply- 
ing itself to it; but this is a grave error. The Benedictine Rule, our past 
record and our Constitutions prove the contrary. The manuscripts of 
our fathers, their rich libraries, the colleges which they established, their 
literary works, even those composed during the time of great fervor, show 
their taste, their varied learning, and the importance they attach to in- 
tellectual culture in the Order. Strictly speaking the religious may devote 
to study about five hours daily during the winter exercises, and somewhat 
less in summer. But on Sundays and holidays, he has the free use of the 
time which is not taken up by the church offices and regular exercises. 
For the professed, especially priests, the studies are free, though not with- 
out supervision; as to the novices and young religious, they are directed 
with a view to their formation in the religious life. 

There are in the monasteries monthly conferences on Theology and 
sacred Scriptures for priests and clerics. Besides these there . are 
regularly organized classes where the full Seminary courses are given to 
_ those preparing for sacred orders. 3 

LIBRARY—The monastic library at Gethsemani had been un-- 
satisfactory; the few religious books, mostly in French, brought out by the 
founders from France, were far from supplying the actual needs of the 
community; so in 1898 an appeal was sent out to various Colleges, In- 
stitutions and priests who, as a rule, responded liberally. Several of these 
latter bequeathed us private libraries, others sent duplicates. In 1901, 
however, the most valuable addition was made by the generous donation 
of the late Monsignor Leonard Batz, former Vicar-General of the Arch- 
diocese of Milwaukee. This consisted of over 40,000 volumes, with sub- 
jects well diversified and the books in perfect condition. To this splendid 
collection there has been a constant increase, especially in works relating 
to the Cistercian Order and the writings of St. Bernard. Precious in- 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 31 


cunabula, priceless manuscripts and rare old liturgical gems have caused 
this library to be, of its kind, by far the most valuable in the- United 
States, and one of the most noted in the world. Modern Catholic authors 
also, especially on Theology, Liturgy and Canon Law, have not been 
neglected. 

MANUAL LABOR—Although the Divine Office is the proper and 
pecuhar employment of the choir religious, yet manual labor is also one 
of their occupations, and it has always been considered to be of very great 
importance in the Benedictine Code. It is in living by the labor of his 


THE CHAPTER ROOM 


hands, says our. great law-giver, that the religious shows himself to be 
truly a monk; and God himself has imposed this as a penance on fallen 
human nature. But even besides these reasons, it is of great utility, con- 
tributing to the physical health as well as moral well being. For the choir 
religious about four hours each day is allotted to this exercise, divided 
equally between the morning and evening hours. For our lay-brothers 
the work lasts about eight hours daily. | 

SLEEP—The Rule allows the religious seven hours of sleep at 
night in winter, and six in summer; but, in this latter case, the hour taken 


32 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


from the night rest is replaced by an equivalent repose during the day, 
after dinner. On ordinary days the hour of rising is at 2 o’clock, and 
on feast days or Sunday it is 1, or 1:30, according to the solemnity. 

St. Benedict requires that the monk should take his repose fully 
dressed, removing only his shoes, and on a straw mattress rendered hard 
by being quilted or tufted. All sleep in a common dormitory, but each 
one has a separate cell, partitioned off from the others, and closed in front 
by a curtain. : 

MEALS—The idea prevails in the world that fasts and-abstinence 
are perpetual with the Trappists. Such is not the case, at least in regard 
to fasts; although all in good health must abstain from flesh-meat and fish 
at all times. Still, some concessions have been made in favor of our 
rather weak constitutions as regards the hour of meals; the principal 
repast is never delayed beyond 12 o’clock, even in Lent. According to 
the season, a supper or simple collation is served in the evening. It is 
also allowed to give something in the morning to those who need it; and 
young men, under twenty-one years of age, are not obliged to fast, the Rule 
providing something extra for them. , 

The Holy See, in approving our Constitutions, has, in its wisdom, 
modified the austerities suggested by St. Benedict. In lessening the fasts 
and privations, which in our days could not be endured, it has permitted 
a larger number of souls to enter our Order, for which they feel an attrac- 
tion-both sweet and powerful. 

The ordinary food consists of vegetables, cereals and the products 
of the dairy. Eggs may be served in the community, but only as a supple- 
mentary dish for those who have a special need. The food may also be 
seasoned with butter or oil. The Rule permits the use of flesh-meat to 
the sick, the weak and to those who need it to repair their strength, but in 
the infirmary only. 

COMMON LIFE—The austerity of Cistercian life consists especi- 
ally in fidelity to the common exercises. Other corporal penances are 
secondary, permitted or imposed with the greatest discretion. Being 
essentially monastic, this life strives after solid virtues and practices; and 
though leaving full liberty to rightly inspired individual piety, it only 
allows, in community, the exercises of devotion of modern origin with 
reserve and measure. 

SILENCE—One of the means of penance and mortification im- 
posed by the Rule is perpetual silence. This silence assumes a particular 
characteristic with us, as it suppresses the use of speech, and replaces it 
by a certain limited number of conventional signs, to indicate the most 
necessary and usual things. This silence, however, becomes in practice 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 33 


relatively easy, for it admits of just exceptions, as the religious may always 
speak with his Superior, and sometimes with others, according to the po- 
sition he holds and the employment he fills. . 


Such are the principal traits of the Cistercian life; prayer, penance 
and labor. The religious prays for himself and his neighbor; he prays in 


THE INFIRMARY 


New Addition 


the name of the Church; he offers expiation for his sins and for those of all 
people, and gains new merit for heaven. He labors, not to amass wealth, 
for he is bound by vow to be poor; he works in order to earn his own living, 
and to be able to help the needy. He lives away from the world, in order 
to be more intimately united with God; he knows that he is a victim, and 
he strives to live the life of one. St. Bernard, his glorious Father, has left 
him this motto: ‘Labor, latebrae et voluntaria paupertas, haec sunt 
monachorum insignia!”’ 


34 GUIDE TO RPOSTULANTS 


Our Order is, at one and the same time, a shelter for innocence, 
a refuge for weakness and an assured hope for souls tossed about on the 
stormy sea of life. 

It is a life most beautiful, most sanctifying, most sure. It has in 
store sweet and unexpected consolations. 

These precious advantages we offer, in the charity of Chas. to 
the generous souls whom the Divine Master will have ehdowed with His 
grace, and shall lead to our solitude in order to speak to their hearts! 

“Venite et videte quam suavis est Dominus!’’ 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 35 


Vedra oIN I DID 


_Trappistines. 


Our Lord called both sexes to the state of perfection and therefore 
to the practice of the evangelical counsels. In this way of sacrifice, far 
from allowing themselves to be outdone by men, women are capable of 
the greatest progress, because they walk therein with an uncalculating 


A CORNER OF THE MONASTIC LIBRARY 


generosity. Full of affection and devotion, their enthusiasm carries them 
to the height of heroism. 

Women, as men, had their beginning—their first efforts to lead the 
perfect life. The consecrated virgins of the early Church were, in some 
sort, religious; even though still living in their parental homes. But when 
the cities and deserts began to be peopled by monks, pious women had it 
at heart to be their rivals in the love for self-immolation. First it was a 
sister, a mother or even a wife, who would not permit herself to be less 
generous than the one who had left them to follow the Divine Master. 

There were virgins innocent and pure, along with widows of spotless 
life; there were also penitents who by this means had become holy. The 
solitudes beheld the spectacle of a Thais, a Mary of Egypt, a Pelagia 


R. NEWCO! 
% 4 » ¢ 
a Bde VF StS 
ni N ; 
BOT Rayne Ca 
605 a eva. re? 


MBAINA, ti. 


&» 


36 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


and many others, and holy Church invokes them at the same time as an 
Alexandra, a Euphrasia and a Paula. Everywhere, in the early ages, 
woman emulated man in charity, sacrifice, expiation and reparation. 
When the religious life had been subjected to more clearly deter- 
mined rules, to a discipline more exact, religious women, as well as men, 
adopted and followed them with fervor. As a general thing, whenever a 
new mode of life was instituted for men, there were to be found women to 
embrace it, and share in the accruing glory and merits. St. Basil wrote 
regulations for his mother and sister, as well as for the other holy compan- 
ions who shared with them the same life, and aspired to spiritual per- 
fection. When our Father, St. Benedict, left the world, his sister, St. 


“GOD’S ACRE” OF THE ABBEY 


Scholastica, imitated his example, and drew with her many holy women 
to share her life. 

During the Middle Ages, it was common for each new religious 
institution to have both sexes participate in the advantages offered for 
their spiritual progress; and just as the men were termed monks, so the 
women, who were cloistered, received the name of nuns. 

Cistercian nuns were first established, at the monastery of ‘‘Tart,”’ 
near Dijon, France, in 1125. From this Motherhouse were sent colonies 
to found other convents, not so quickly as the houses for men, yet gradually 
they were to be found wherever the Cistercians existed. They were an 
honor to the Order, the rules of which they kept with fidelity. In later 


GUIDE TO’ POSTULANTS 37 


times they became very numerous, counting as many as 900 monasteries 
in various countries. Woman is more persevering than man in the regu- 
lar observances. Ordinarily relaxation does not begin with her; more 
inclined to attach herself to little things, to the small details of life she 
even runs the risk at times, of giving them too much importance; but for 
this very reason she avoids the rock against which Holy Scripture warns 
us; saying: ‘‘He who despises small things shall fall by little and little.”’ 

However, for the Cistercian nuns also the hour of decadence came. 
The reasons were, 1n general, the same as for the monks, and this spiritual 


GENERAL VIEW OF FARM BUILDINGS 


apathy gradually took possession of their houses, though not always in 
the same degree. In Spain the regular observance was persevered in for 
the greater length of time. There were several reforms, some following 
restorations introduced by the monks, others were inaugurated by them- 
selves. Dom Augustin de Lestrange, having established his refuge at 
Val-Sainte, soon gathered near him, at ‘‘La Riedra’’ a number of nuns who, 
for the most part had been scattered from various ruined monasteries of 
France, and to these he gave his own regulations. Exiled like himself, 
they shared generously in the sufferings of their brethren in religion. Cast 


38 GUIDE TO POSTULANTS 


about by the spirit of revolution they went from Switzerland to Russia, 
then to England and even to America, until they were recalled to France 
at the same time as the Trappists. They assumed the name of Trap- 
pistines and founded several monasteries, gradually increasing in numbers 
Withi=the propress or times - 

The nuns, like the monks, are divided into choir and lay sisters; 
like them also they sing the Divine Office, engage in manual labor, even 
in the fields, in proportion to their strength. They keep the same rules 
of silence, have the same hours for repasts and sleep and, in general, lead 
the same life. 

Their direction depends on the Order, and they are given, according 
to their Constitutions, a priest of the Order as chaplain. Thus their 
spiritual guidance and instruction, given by a religious following the same 
rule, keeps them united in the same spirit and tends to develop powerfully 
the religious virtues, enabling both communities and individual souls to 
taste a precious peace. 


GUIDE TO POSTULANTS . 39 


General Statistics. 


| At the present time there are monasteries of the Order in France, 
Belgium, Ireland, England, Italy, United States, Germany, Jugoslavia, 
Holland, Canada, Spain, China, Palestine, Congo, Japan and Brazil. 

The total number of Trappist monks and lay-brothers 1s about 3,500, 
whilst the Trappistines count about 1,000. 

Although there are two monasteries of nuns in Canada, yet we re- 
gret to say that, at present, there are none in the United States, a defect 
we hope and pray may be remedied in the not distant future. There is, 
however, a monastery of nuns in England, where English is the common 
language of the community. 


FINIS 


ee AE Ss 


UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3 0112 098490896 


